Lahore HC admits petition seeking to disqualify Nawaz Sharif

Lahore: A petition demanding that Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif be “disqualified” for alleged money laundering and “wilfully concealing” his wealth from the public was admitted by the Lahore High Court yesterday.

Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif. File Pic

The petitioner alleged, “After the Prime Minister’s son Hussain Nawaz’s admission about the existence of their companies outside Pakistan, the Premier should be disqualified. Hussain was a minor when the offshore companies were purchased outside Pakistan in 1993 and 1994 but PM Sharif did not declare these assets before the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).”

Adjourned till April 14After hearing the arguments of petitioner Gohar Nawaz Sindhu, Lahore High Court Justice Shahid Wahid overruled the objection of the government’s law officer and allowed him to submit evidence over the alleged presence of two offshore companies of Prime Minister Sharif. The Lahore High Court (LHC) adjourned the hearing till April 14.

The petitioner also argued in court that the Prime Minister had lost “moral ground” to hold his office in the wake of the ‘Panama Papers’ leak, which allegedly showed his sons were involved in money laundering and having offshore companies in the UK.